Sealing attachment for sheet-delivery mechanism



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

L. o. GROWELL. l SEALINGr ATTACHMENT FOR SHEET DELIVERY MEGHANISM.A

No. 419,833. Patented Ja11.21,1890

(No Mode1,) 4 sheets-'Sheet 2.

L. C. CROWELL. SEALTNG ATTACHMENT EOE SHEET DELIVERY MEGEANISM.

No. 419,833. l Patented @11.21, 1890.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

L. UUROWBLL. SEALING ATTACHMENT FOR SHEET DELIVERY MBGHANISM.

No. 419,833. Patented Jan. 21, 1890,.

(No Model.)

` I 4sheets-/sheet .4. L. 0. GROWELL. SEALING ATTACHMENT EUR SHEETDELIVERY MEGHANISM. No. 419,833. Patented Jan.21,1890.

d UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

LUTHER O. OROVELL, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SEALING ATTACHMENT FOR S HEET-DELIVERY MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 419,833, dated January21, 1890.

Application led January 12, 1889. Serial No. 296,124. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, LUTHER O. OROWELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Sealing Attachments forSheet- Delivery Mechanism, .fully described and represented in thefollowing' specification and the accompanying` drawings, forming a partofthe same.

It is customary at the present time for the publishers of newspapers andother periodicals to furnish large quanties of such publications tonewsdealers and agents upon the condition that such as remain unsoldafter a certain time may be returned to the publishers to be redeemed byrefunding the whole or a part of the'purchase price. This manner oftransacting business has afforded an opportunity for the perpetration offraud upon publishers, which has frequently been taken advantage of bynewsdealers and agents.

A large class of persons who purchase daily newspapers and otherperiodicals do not care to preserve them, and as 'a consequence they arethrown aside as soon as read, which is frequently within a few minutesof the time they are purchased. From this it results that largequantities of papers and periodicals accumulate in railway-cars andother public conveyances, and in hotels, club-rooms, and like places.These papers and periodicals have been frequently collected by newsboysor persons in attendance at such places and returned todealers andagents, who in turn returned them to the publishers, demanding the wholeor a part of the purchase price. It is the object of the presentinvention to prevent such fraud, and I attain this object by providing amechanism which can be combined with the delivery mechanism of an ordinary printing machine, so as to provide each paper as it is deliveredwith a seal, which connects Vits free edges in such manner that it mustbe broken in order to unfold the paper for access to the reading matterinside.

InV the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of aportion of the delivery mechanism of aweb-printing machine, showingapplied thereto the mechanism constituting the present invention. Fig. 2is a rear elevation of the same parts, partly in section. Fig. 3 is ahorizontal section taken on the line 3 of Figs. l, 2, and 4. Fig. 4 isavertical section taken on the line 4 of Fig. 3. Figs. 5 and '6 areenlarged detailed views illustrating the cutting mechanism, which willbe hereinafter referred to. Fig. 7 is a view of one of the papers,showing the same provided with the seal. Fig. 8 shows a modified form ofseal, which will be referred to.

Referring to said drawings, it is to be understood that the deliverymechanism therein partly illustrated is of an ordinary construction,which is capacitated to operate in connection with a web-printingmachine to sever the web into sheets and deliver the same with twofolds, one longitudinal and one transverse of the sheet. This deliverymechanism consists of a longitudinal folder A, which, as

Letters Patent, No. 331,280, and operates to impart a longitudinal foldto the printed web as it is delivered from the printing mechanism, and a`pair of cutting and folding cylinders B C and co-operatingfolding-rolls b, which are equipped substantially as shown in my priorLetters Patent, No. 317,740, and are capacitated to sever thelongitudinally-folded web into sheets and impart a transverse fold tosaid sheets, or to sever the web into sheets, associate the sheets intopairs, and impart a transverse fold to the pair of sheets.

The particular form of delivery mechanism illustrated has been selectedmerely for the purpose ofl showing one practical application of thepresent invention; but it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited in its application to this particular form of deliverymechanism, but can be applied equally well in connection with otherforms of folding or cutting and folding mechanism.

In the form of delivery mechanism shown the web of paper D, after beingprinted, passes over-the folder A, by which it is folded longitudinallyand then enters'the bite of the cutting and folding cylinders B O. Ifthe sheets severed from the web are not to be associated, the leadingend of thel web will be taken by one of the sets of pins upon thecylinder B and carried around upon that cylillustrated, is of the formshown in my prior IOO inder until the cylinder has made ahalf-revolution, at which time the sheet will be severed from the web,and at or about the same time the sheet will be folded transverselybetween the rolls Z). After passing the rolls b the folded sheet willpass to the bite of the pair of folding-rolls c and be delivered intothe control of the tapes d, to be conveyed to the piling mechanism, orit may pass to other folding mechanism to be further folded. If thesheets severed from the web are to be associated in pairs, the leadingend of the web will be taken by the pins upon the cylinder C and carriedaround upon that cylinder until the first sheet is severed from the web.The leading end of the first sheet will then be transferred to the pinsupon the cylinder B, so as to be associated with the leading end of theweb, and the two sheets thus associated will then be folded together offthe cylinder B the same as in the case of a single sheet.

For the purpose of applying a seal to the edge of each sheet, so as toconnect the free edges of the paper, as before described, there isprovided a folding, cutting, and pasting mechanism by which anarrowribbon of paper is folded longitudinally and advanced in such positionthat its two plies embrace the edge of the folded sheet or sheets as itor they are delivered from the rolls b and pass to the rolls c. Beforebeing folded this ribbon of paper is partially severed at suitableintervals to form the seals, and is provided upon the side which, afterfolding, becomes the inside with suitable lines of paste, by which, whenthe folded ribbon is pressed against the sides of the folded sheet, itis caused to adhere, and thus connect the free edges of the foldedsheet. The mechanism is so organized that as each seal is applied it isnipped by accelerated rolls, which operate to detach it from the ribbon.

The organization thus outlined will now be described in detail. Theribbon of paper E is in the case shown led from a roll supported inconvenient position parallel with the rolls c, and after passing arounda suitable 'leading-roll 2 passes between a pair of cutting-rolls 3 4,where it is operated upon by cutting-blades 5, carried by the respectiverolls in such manner as to be partly, but not wholly, severed atsuitable intervals to form the seals of the desired width. The blades 5are, as will be observed, of serrated form, the teeth of the two bladesintermeshing, so as to partly sever the paper on an irregular line. Oneof the blades is arranged so that its teeth do not project beyond theperiphery of its roll, while the other blade is arranged tangential toits roll, so that as the two rolls revolve the teeth of the tangentialblade will ent-er between the teethl of the other blade, and thus partlysever the paper, the blades beingso arranged that the severance will notbecomplet-e, enough of the paper being left to give sufficient strengthto permit the rib? bon to be properly advanced. After passing the rolls3 4, and being thus partly severed,

the ribbon E passes above a pasting-roll 6,y

angles to its previous direction of travel, and v by which the lines ofpaste applied by the pasting-rolls 6 are brought upon the upper side ofthe ribbon. From the turning-bar S the ribbon passes over and through alongitudinal folder H, which is of substantially the form shown in myprior Letters Patent, No. 233,994, and by which the ribbon is foldedlongitudinally, so as to bring the lines of paste applied by the roll 6upon the inside of the fold. After being folded longitudinally theribbon passes downward from the folder H and enters the bite of therolls c near the ends of said rolls, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4. Thefolder H is so positioned with relation to the rolls c that as thesheets severed from the web D pass from the rolls Z9 to the rolls ctheir edges will pass between the external turners 9 of the folder H,and thus be interposed between the two plies of the folded ribbon assaid ribbon also passes through the folder and to the bite of the rollsc, as also indicated in Figs. 3 and 4. vThe folder H and web-turner 8are preferably formed of a single piece of sheet metal, which is bent tothe proper form, as shown in the drawings, to form the external turners9 of the folder, and also a rearwardly-extendin g plate, over which theribbon passes in its course to the folder, the rear edge of the platebeing oblique and folded over to form the web-turner 8.

For the purpose of advancing the folded ribbon over and through thefolder H there are provided a pair of feeding-rolls 10, which projectthrough a recess formed in the back of the folder H in position to nipthe folded edge of the ribbon outside the path of the sheets passingfrom the rolls b to the rolls c. To hold the ribbon well back into thefolder H and prevent its folded edge from working out of the bite of therolls 10, the folder is preferably provided with an internal guideiingerl2, which is supported in any suitable position and extends downwardbetween the external turners 9 and within the fold of the ribbon,terminating just above the bite of the rolls 10. The guide-linger 12 isshown as a thin plate; but in some cases it may be preferable to make itin shape more or less a counterpart of the folder.

The mechanism which has been described is driven as follows: The shaftof the cylinder B is provided with a worm 13, which en gages with aworm-gear 14, mounted upon a vertical shaft having a beveled gear 15,which engages with asimilar gear16,mounted upon a stud and connected toa gear 1'7, which en gages through an intermediate 18 with a pinion 19,fixed upon the shaft of the pasting- IOO IIO

roll 6, the opposite end of which shaft is provided with a gear 20,which communicates through an intermediate 21 with a gear 22, iixed uponthe shaft of one of the feedingrolls 10, the gear 22 engaging with asimilar gear 23 upon the shaft of the other roll. The gear 2.1 alsoengages 'with a gear24, fixed upon the shaft of the cutting-roll 4f,which latter gear engages with a gear 25 upon the shaft of the othercutting-roll 3, and also with a gear 26, fixed upon the shaft of theleading-roll 2. The gears which have been described are so proportionedwith relation to the surface speed of the cylinder B that the ribbon Ewill be advanced a distance equal to the widthof one of the seals, whichare severed from the ribbon foreach sheet that is folded off thecylinder B and delivered from the rolls b to the rolls c-that is to say,at each half-revolution of the cylinder l5-and the parts are so timedthat the advance end of the folded ribbon will arrive at the bite of therolls c just before the rear end of each folded sheet arrives at thebite of said rolls.

The operation of the mechanism thus far described is as-follows:Assuming the machine to be in operation and adjusted to deliver singlesheets, the web D will, after leaving the longitudinal folder A, beoperated upon by the cylinders B C and rolls l), as before explained.The ribbon E, led from its roll will pass between the `cutting-rolls 34, where it will be partially severed at intervals Y suitable to formthe seals, and will then as it passes' the roll G receive suitable linesof paste, after which it will pass overthe turning-bar 8 and over andthrough the longitudinal folder H, and after passing between thefeeding-rolls 10 will enter the bite of the rolls c. The parts are sotimed, as before explained, that as the iirst sheet delivered from therolls b passes between the rolls c and arrives in such position that itsrear end is nearly at the bite of the rolls c the leading end oftheribbon will arrive at the bite of said rolls c, the edge of thefolded sheet being interposed between the two plies of the foldedribbon, as before described, and as indicated in Fig. 4. As soon as theleading end of the ribbon enters the bite of the rolls c it will benipped by said rolls, and as said rolls are moving at a surface speedmuch in excess of that of the ribbon the first seal f will be detachedfrom the end of the ribbon as it passes between the rolls c, togetherwith the folded sheet, and will be pressed against the sheet, so thatits ends will adhere to the sheet and connect the free edges of thepaper, as indicated in Fig. 7, thereby making it impossible to unfoldthe sheet so as to gain access to its inside matter without breaking theseal, and thus indicating that the paper has been sold. Thefeeding-rolls 10 are so positioned, as will be observed, that thedistance between the bite of said rolls and the bite of the rolls c issomewhat more than the width of one seal, but somewhat less than thewidth of two seals, so that the second seal will be firmly held by therolls 10, to permit. the first' one to be detached without danger ofdetaching more than one at a time, and so the operation will continue tobe repeated as each sheet is delivered.

Vhen the sheets are associated in pairs, instead of being deliveredsingly, the operation will be exactly the same, except that themechanism for advancing the ribbon for the seals will be timed, so as tooperate at halfspeed. For this purpose the pinion 19 upon the shaft ofthe pasting-roll is provided with a companion pinion 27 of twice thesize of the pinion 19, and the two pinions are made movable upon theshaft, being secured thereto `ism for advancing the ribbon is driven,which have been described, are suitable for the purpose; but it is to beunderstood that such connections may be varied widely without departingfrom. the invention. In most cases it will be preferable to locate therolls 3 4 and the roll which carries the ribbon and also thepasting-roll parallel with the rolls b and c, and provide theturning-bar 8, for turning the ribbon, to present it to the longitudinalfolder. This, however, is not essential. The turning-bar 8 may beomitted, and in such case the pasting-roll, the rolls 3 4, and the rollwhich carries the ribbon will be arranged at right angles to the rolls bc.

In many cases it will be desirable to provide the seals with someprinted matter or design which will prevent them from being easilycounterfeited, and where this is desired it can readily be accomplishedby providing the roll 3 between the cutting-blade 5 withprintingsurfaces, which will print any suitable Inatter upon the seals,and in such case the printing-surfaces upon the roll 3 will be suitablyinked by means of a roll 28, driven from the roll 3 and receiving asupply of ink in any suitable manner, but preferably by carrying anabsorbent surface which is saturated with ink.

The paste-roll 6, instead of being cut away at its center so as to applythe paste only to the edges of the ribbon, may be so formed as IOO IIO

to apply the paste to the whole width of the Y ribbon, and it is ofcourse evident that the ribbon may be slit so as to form two ribbons, orthat two narrow ribbons equivalent to the two plies of thelongitudinally-folded ribbon may be used, and in such case the twohalves of the ribbon or the two ribbons will pass to the rolls c, sothat the edge of the folded sheet will be interposed between them. Inpassing between the rolls l0 the edges of the two rib-. bons will bepressed together, so as to be united by the past-e upon them, as shownin Fig. S. It is therefore to be understood that the term ribbon, asherein used, is intended to include both the longitudinally-foldedribbon and the two narrow ribbons, which are equivalent to the two pliesof the longitudinally-folded ribbon.

l. The combination, with the rolls c for advancing a folded sheet, of afeeding mechanism arranged to advance a ribbon in position to be foldedover the edge of the sheet by the rolls c, and a perforator forpartially severing the ribbon at suitable intervals, the rolls c beingrun at a higher speed than the ribbonfeedingmechanism, whereby thesections of the ribbon are separat-eden the line of partial severance,substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the rolls c foradvancin ga folded sheet, of therolls 10, arranged toadvance a ribbon parallel with and embracing theedge of the sheet, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a folding and delivery mechanism, of alongitudinal folder H, arranged to-fold a ribbon and deliver it with itstwo plies embracing the edge of the folded sheet, substantially asdescribed.

4L. The combination, with a folding-delivery mechanism, of alongitudinal folder H, arranged to fold a ribbon and deliver it with itstwo plies embracing the edge of the folded sheet, and a pastingmechanism for applying paste to said ribbon, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a folding-delivery mechanism, of a longitudinalfolder H, ar-

longitudinally fold a ribbon and deliver it l with its two pliesembracing the edge of the sheet, and a web-turner 8, for turning theribbon to present it tothe folder, substantiallyas described.

7. The combined longitudinal folder H and web-turner 8, composed ofsheet metal bent to form the two external turners 9, and having anoblique rear edge forming the Webturner S, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the longitudinal folder H, having externalturners 9, which direct the two sides of the ribbon toward each other,of the feed-rolls l0, arranged to nip the folded edge of the ribbon,substantially as described.

9. The combination, with the longitudinal folder H, having externalturners 9, which direct the two sides of the ribbon toward each other,of the feeding-rolls lO, arranged to nip the folded edge of the ribbon,and the guideiingerlfZ, extending inside the fold of the ribbon andacting to retain the folded edge of the ribbon in the bite of the rolls,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

LUTHER C. CROWELL. Witnesses:

J. J. KENNEDY, O. H. PALMER.

